Falcons flag football to play Helix for CIF championship on Saturday

LA JOLLA – Torrey Pines flag football defeated Carlsbad 28-17 on Nov. 3 in the San Diego Section Open Division semifinals, advancing to Saturday’s championship game against Helix at Olympian High School in Chula Vista.

The Falcons captured the Div. I section championship last season after finishing runner-up in each of the program’s first two years. Saturday’s game will mark Torrey Pines’ fourth consecutive appearance in a section championship game.

“It’s a testament to the girls and to them buying in each year, understanding the process and, like I said, continuing to buy into it,” Falcons head coach Ryland Wickman said.

The victory was Torrey Pines’ second over Avocado League rival Carlsbad this season and improved the Falcons’ record to 15-8.

“Carlsbad’s a very talented team. They’ve got some very good young talent. They changed their offense a little bit from the beginning of the season, using their athletes a little bit more, so I was expecting a really good game. They’re also in our league, so we’re familiar with each other. We expected a good game going in, and it was a good game,” Wickman said.

Sophomore quarterback Izzie Dieter threw four touchdown passes as Torrey Pines built an early lead and held off the Lancers. Dieter connected with Lilou Briere and Ollie Chontos to put the Falcons ahead 14-0. Carlsbad answered to make it 14-7 before Dieter found Cambry Wamstad and Claire McEvoy, extending the lead to 28-7.

Carlsbad scored late and attempted to use two of the new dynamic kickoff plays, designed to give the kicking team an opportunity to regain possession, but Torrey Pines stopped both attempts.

Dieter has thrown for at least 50 touchdowns in consecutive seasons. Wickman said her confidence and ability to read defenses have continued to improve, along with her leadership.

“Her confidence just continues to grow, and her ability to read defenses continues to get better. I think she’s also becoming more of a leader,” Wickman said.

The team’s commitment was evident the morning after the semifinal. Wickman offered the players the afternoon off, but they chose to practice instead.

“They’re the ones putting it on themselves. I’ll be honest with you, I even tried to give them today off, and they told me no. They wanted to practice, finish this and continue to learn and get better. I was excited to see that,” Wickman said.

The Falcons will face an 18-1 Helix team in Saturday’s championship game scheduled for 6 p.m. The Highlanders went 8-0 in league play to claim the Grossmont Hills League title, led by senior quarterback Vida Sanchez, who accounted for 73 passing and rushing touchdowns and nearly 5,000 yards of offense this season, and receiver Kaiya Merlo, who caught 117 passes and 28 touchdowns.

“Their quarterback is very athletic. They have a good receiver, and they play physical football. It’s going to be a good test. We’re going to have to control their quarterback and their No. 1 receiver and play good football. Every team that’s left is a good team, and we know that. Hopefully, we’re able to put in some good work, get prepared and show up ready to play,” Wickman said.